Never Go Back
by Marrymebrandon
Summary: CHALLENGE FROM DIVADADDYGOGIRL: When John Cena attends a book signing in Boston he meets a beautiful young woman. What happens when these two become a couple and there are more than a few people who don’t approve. Cena OC Shelton
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **When John Cena attends a book signing in Boston he comes across a woman that captures his heart almost immediately. What happens when these two become an unlikely couple and there are more than a few people who don't approve? Cena/OC/Shelton, Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Candice, maybe Lita, maybe Carlito.

**Chapter 1**

Tyra Jackson lifted her eyelids and immediately squinted at the sunlight pouring in through the window of her grandmother's 14th floor apartment. Shivering a bit from the chilliness in her room, she threw the blankets back over her head dreading the long walk to Ray's bookstore, her current place of employment.

"Tyra baby wake up." She heard her grandmother, affectionately known as 'Gram", call to her through the door.

"Damn." She said to herself. That didn't take long.

So, with every ounce of energy she could muster, Tyra rose from her bed and dragged her feet across the cold floor. Today was a big day at Ray's. For the first time ever there would be a celebrity book signing. Some guy by the name of John Cena, a WWE wrestling superstar she had never heard of before. The fact that Tyra and her Gram only had one TV that played only two stations didn't help matters. Not that Tyra was on top of subjects relating to modern day pop culture, she wasn't, but whoever this John Cena guy was sure did create quite a stir in her neighborhood. John was apparently from the neighborhood two blocks away from hers and the book signing would go to benefit inner city kids. Neither neighborhood was much to brag about but Tyra's was much worse. Businesses had been closing down over the past several years no thanks to the growing crime rate, and crack houses were becoming the status quo. That's exactly why Tyra wanted out, and that's exactly why she forced herself into the shower instead of sleeping the morning away. She was saving money to some day go to college and she didn't care if she was 50 years old when the day would finally come, she was determined to get her degree.

"Damn! Gram, the water heater's busted again." Tyra called out as she tested the water coming from the shower. It was the second time this week that the Jackson's would be without warm water.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Tyra entered Ray's bookstore she stomped the snow off her feet. Winter time in Boston totally sucked and regardless of how many winters she had lived through, Tyra would never get used to it.

"What's up Ray?" She asked as she saw her boss, Ray Woods, a somewhat crusty old black man who despite his bitter exterior was a real softy at heart.

"Tyra, I need you get those tables ready, our special guest will be here any minute." He ordered.

Tyra simply shrugged her shoulders and did as Ray asked. She was used to him barking orders and it didn't bother her in the slightest. She had overcome way too much in her lifetime to let an old fart like Ray get to her.

"Damn Tyra, you looking good baby." A voice from behind called out to Tyra.

"Thanks Anthony. You know you don't have to tell me that everyday." She reminded him, her co-worker and friend.

Anthony smiled. Truth be told he had a crush on Tyra, and who wouldn't. She had the smoothest choc lately colored skin he had ever seen. Her eyes were wide and her full lips only helped to enhance her gorgeous smile. The coolest thing about Tyra though was the fact that she rarely wore make-up. All her beauty was natural. Halle Berry hand nothing on this girl.

Anthony smiled back at Tyra and gave her a "you can't see me" hand wave in front of his face. Anthony was a young black man of about 18 and he was a wrestling fanatic. That fact that John Cena would be appearing at any moment was a dream come true for him.

"What the hell was that?" Tyra asked, the John Cena reference being lost on her.

Anthony rolled his eyes.

"Cena man, that's what he does in the ring. It's like his thing you know what I mean?" Anthony explained.

Tyra found Anthony's enthusiasm to be quite entertaining and cute. She couldn't understand though how anyone could get so involved in watching a bunch of guys covered in baby oil and wearing tights roll around in a ring together. But whatever, young guys had to excursive their homoerotic thoughts somehow, and wrestling must have been it.

"You're a trip Anthony." Tyra told him and then turned away to finish stocking away books.

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As Tyra finished cleaning up she peaked outside the window. There, stretched out around the corner was a long line of people waiting to meet John. Some of them had been standing out there since Tyra arrived. She couldn't believe the dedication these fans had. They were willing to stand around in 20 degree weather just to get an autograph from Cena. As Tyra laughed to herself about the absurdity of it all she heard Ray call out.

"He's heard!"

Tyra turned immediately toward the back door where John had entered. Coming in through the front way would have caused too much of a commotion and John's people (his publicist in particular), didn't want any of that happening.

Even though Tyra knew nothing about John, she couldn't help but to be curious. There had been so much talk about him from Anthony that she wanted to see for herself what was the big deal.

As John walked over and took a seat behind the table where he would be signing autographs, Tyra looked in his direction hoping he wouldn't see her staring.

"Damn!" She said to herself as John's eyes fell on hers for a half second.

How could he not see her, the bookstore itself was very small and the only ones inside were John, his publicist, Ray Anthony and Tyra. Surely John would see Tyra standing there at some point.

Tyra though was completely mortified. "Maybe he didn't see me stare. Maybe he was looking at something else" she thought to herself. So, again, she peaked over at John.

"Damn, damn, damn." Tyra said to herself. That's twice he had caught her staring.

So far things weren't getting off to the best of starts.

"Tyra. Go get Mr. Cena some water." Ray ordered his loyal employee.

Tyra rushed off and did as Ray told her. When she came back and approached John she held her head down to the floor. She was still quite embarrassed from their exchange of glances. As she got closer she noticed right away his smile and the fact that he was smiling right at her. How could she ignore those dimples? And even though John was wearing a Celtics ball cap, she could tell he had some of the most gorgeous eyes she had ever seen.

"Thank you." John said as Tyra placed the water carefully before him.

Tyra smiled back and ran a hand over her silky hair. As she stepped backwards though she tripped over a book lying on the floor and fell to the ground. John immediately rose from his chair to help her up.

"You okay?" He asked.

Tyra got up as quickly as she could and brushed herself off. There were no words for her humiliation now.

"I'm fine. Just a little clumsy I guess." She told John.

As John watched Tyra scamper off in embarrassment he couldn't help but to smile. He also made a mental note to himself. Before he left the bookstore he wanted to be sure that Tyra no longer felt stupid.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

While security helped to usher any straggling fans left in the bookstore, Tyra tried desperately to keep a low profile. After about an hour, the book signing was finally over and soon John Cena would be gone. He would go on with his life and Tyra would go on with hers and for Tyra that was perfectly fine. After embarrassing herself in front a celebrity like John, she had almost wished she never met the man in the first place.

"So you sure you okay?" A deep voiced man asked Tyra while she had her back turned, busying herself with dusting off books.

When Tyra turned toward the man she was shocked to find herself looking directly into the eyes of John. Immediately her heart fell to the floor. She had no idea what to say and she could hardly believe that a guy like him went out of his way just to check on her. Surely he had a busy schedule and needed to get back to his superstar lifestyle.

Little did Tyra know that even though John Cena had finally made it as a professional wrestler and was now making millions of dollars, he was still the same guy who grew up only a few blocks away from Ray's bookstore Not only that, but there was definitely something about Tyra that intrigued him. Maybe it was the fact the she seemed to be totally oblivious to who he was. Maybe it was the fact that she was so down to earth, much like himself. Or maybe it was the fact that he found her ill at ease smile to be not only one of a kind, but beautiful as well.

"Oh I'm fine. It was no big deal really. I fall all the time." Tyra replied nervously, but then wanted to kick herself for the last comment.

John laughed to himself. The way Tyra tried to cover her nervousness amused him.

"Okay then, I better let you get back to work. Thanks for the water." John said, and then just as quickly as he came, he was gone.

Tyra followed him with her eyes as he left. She couldn't help but to notice his awesomely cute butt, and if her skin wasn't as dark as it was, her face would have been redder than a stoplight.

"Yo Ty, I think my boy Cena likes you." Anthony said laughing to himself as he walked by her.

Tyra immediately turned in his direction and hurled a book right at him. It was obvious Anthony was getting a kick out of her awkwardness.

"Not funny Anthony!" She called out to him.

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The following day, Tyra arrived at the bookstore early. Her boss Ray was sick and it was her responsibility to open up the store and get it ready for the day.

Since she was the only one at the store, she grabbed her headphones and placed them on her head deciding that sweeping the floors would be way more enjoyable with a little funk playing in her ears. So she grabbed a broom and cranked her portable cd player up to seven, and thus the broom jam began.

Bopping her head up and down with the beat she was totally oblivious to the fact that someone was tapping on the window. As she kept her sweeping in time with the music, head bopping up and down, she moved closer to the front store windows where the tapping was coming from, but still she did not notice the young man outside trying to get her attention. Then suddenly, she raised her eyes and saw someone staring right at her.

"Holy Shit!" She said as she flung her headphones off her head and held her chest. She thought she was literally going to have a heart attack. Never in a million years did she expect to see anyone standing outside the window. It was seven o'clock in the morning and freezing cold outside. No one in her neighborhood was up before nine on a day like this.

John stood outside in the cold laughing his ass of. His intention was never to scare Tyra, but regardless, it was funny as hell to see her almost jump right out of her skin.

As Tyra walked over to the front door to let John in she tried hard to control her breathing. She wondered if she would ever recover from the scare she just received.

"Mr. Cena, hi, did you forget something?" Tyra asked, once again completely embarrassed. She was now two for two.

"Nah, I came to talk to you." John confided.

"Me?" Tyra asked.

What in the hell would he want with her she wondered?

"And by the way, don't call me Mr. Cena. That's my dad. Call me John." He told her and then extended his hand out for her to shake it.

Tyra looked at John and then at his hand. She had now fallen into a state of, "this can't be happening can it?"

"Sure, Mr. Cena, I mean John." Tyra responded full of anxiety.

"I still feel bad about you falling yesterday, so to make sure you put it out of you memory, I wanted to see if you could be my date tonight for the show?" John asked.

Truth be told, Tyra had left a lingering impression in John's mind. To him, she was a mystery that he wanted to uncover. That fact that she was black, and poor made no difference to him. There was just something about her he felt needed to be discovered.

"A show, what kind of show? I guess I'm just a little confused." Tyra asked.

She honestly had no idea what he was asking her to attend. For all she knew he was inviting her to the circus. It was the Greatest Show on Earth after all.

"Raw. We tape Raw tonight here in Boston. I'd love it if you could hang out with me backstage." John replied.

Tyra didn't know what to say. Was he asking her out on a date? Is that what 'hanging out backstage' means?

"Well, I don't get off until four, so I..."

But before Tyra could finish her sentence, John cut her off.

"Perfect. I don't have to be at the arena until five. I'll pick you up here at four." He said with a huge smile on his face.

Tyra was speechless. A million thoughts ran through her mind: what should she wear, what should she say, was this really happening, what would she tell Gram?

"Nice moves by the way. You'll have to teach me how you do the cabbage patch with a broom someday. I've never seen that before." John teased. "See you at four." He finished and then turned to leave.

Tyra stood motionless for about a full minute. She had just been asked out by one of the sexiest men she had ever seen. It was almost like winning the lottery. Things like this just don't happen to people like her she thought to herself. Who knows, maybe this was God's way of giving a little back for all the crappy things she's had to go through in her life. Whatever it was, Tyra was now the happiest woman in Boston, or anywhere for that matter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

RAW TAPING...

As John walked through the backstage area he held tightly to Tyra's hand. He knew this was all new to her and she was nervous. He wanted her to know he would not leave her hanging.

"Hey John, what's going on man?" A deep voice called from behind them.

When John and Tyra turned they saw Randy Orton headed their way.

Of course Tyra had never seen the man before but she was impressed by his size and immediate charm. He looked exactly like what she assumed a professional wrestler would look like: Big, intimidating and athletic.

"Hey Randy, what's up? I'd like you to meet Tyra Jackson. She's my guest for tonight." John told him, being careful with the words he chose.

Randy raised an eyebrow. He thought it funny the way John used the word 'guest'. In most cases, when a wrestler brought a new woman with them to a show, it generally meant they had picked up a ring rat for a little fun afterward. Randy looked Tyra over with his eyes. She was no ring rat. John had actually managed to find a woman that appeared to be more than just about sleeping with someone famous.

"Nice to meet you Miss Jackson." Randy said as he grabbed Tyra's hand and kissed it.

Tyra couldn't help but to blush. Randy was quite the looker and she was not used to getting that kind of attention, especially from someone who could probably get any woman he wanted.

"Yo bro, take it easy." John warned Randy jokingly. Then he turned to Tyra. "Randy's a real ladies man in his own mind. Don't let him fool you." John said winking at Tyra as his smile beamed in her direction.

Randy smiled. He loved giving John a hard time.

"Hey, if Mr. Innocent here doesn't treat you right, look me up." Randy replied nudging Tyra slightly to make sure she knew he was only kidding around.

"See you guys later. Tyra have fun and nice to meet you." Randy called out as he started to leave.

John couldn't help but to notice the smile on Tyra's face as she watched Randy go. It seemed Randy had managed to make Tyra feel a little more at ease and John appreciated it.

"That was Randy Orton, he loves the ladies but he's a cool guy. Harmless." John told Tyra.

Tyra nodded. So far she was quite proud of the way she was handling herself. Thirty minutes into their "date" and she had managed not to trip over her words or her feet. A new personal best for her. It was only a matter of time though before she would end up doing something stupid, she convinced herself. John was just too damn good looking and sexy for her not to feel an endless supply of nervousness. She only hoped that as the night wore on the butterflies in her stomach would take a chill pill, and she could relax.

As John and Tyra continued on, they ran into another superstar. This time it was the WWE's current top diva, Lita.

"Hey Lita?" John called out. Lita was a nice girl and when it was time for John to cut his promo, he wanted to be sure he left Tyra with someone cool, someone he could trust. Lita was the warmest diva backstage and a lot like Tyra. She was laid back and easy going. Just the kind of person Tyra needed to meet right now.

"Hey John." Lita responded.

"This is Tyra Jackson. I'm kind of showing her around tonight." John said.

Lita extended her hand to Tyra.

"Hi, I'm Lita. Nice to meet you." She said as the two women shook hands. "This your first time to a show?" Lita asked.

Tyra was quite embarrassed. Thus far she had met two of the biggest superstars in the WWE and she had never seen or heard of either one of them. In a way she felt guilty now for giving her friend Anthony such a hard time for watching wrestling. They weren't all just a bunch of stupid meatheads lathered up in baby oil. Based on John, Randy and Lita alone, wrestlers were actually pretty cool.

"I'm afraid so. I don't watch much TV." Tyra responded. Truth be told, she really didn't have a TV to watch, but that was something she would never discuss. There was no sense in anyone knowing she didn't exactly come from a wealthy family. "But I'm very excited to be here." She admitted.

John smiled over at her. He was trying desperately to be cool right now, but he had to admit, that he was also just a little nervous. Even though this was their first date, and technically it really couldn't even be considered a date, he wanted things to go smoothly. Not only was his intention to get to know Tyra better, but also to get her to meet his friends and realize he was just a normal guy.

"Good to hear. Well if you need anything let me know." Lita told her. "Uh oh John, you've got a McMahon looking for you." Lita said as she looked over John's should and saw Shane McMahon headed in their direction.

As Shane approached, Tyra was back to feeling intimidated and almost self-conscious of herself. Even though she had never met the man it was obvious the guy had money. He was dressed in a black pinstriped suit and tie. He looked the part of a typical business executive, perfect white teeth and lots of confidence. He was the complete opposite of someone like herself. Shane had spent his whole life in the lap of luxury. Tyra on the other hand had spent most of her life just trying to survive. Managing to keep the electric going at her Grams apartment was challenging enough.

"John, Vince needs you to run through your lines with Edge." Shane said as his eyes immediately took in Tyra.

"Okay. Lita can you stay with Tyra until I get back?" John asked.

"Sure, no problem." Lita said smiling at Tyra.

As John took off in the other direction, Shane remained as he folded his arms across his chest and studied the woman he had never seen before.

"Shane, this is Tyra. She's here with John tonight." Lita explained.

Tyra smiled shyly. Unlike Randy and Lita before, Tyra couldn't quite read Shane. Sure the guy stood there with a smirk on his face, but was that a good smirk, or a bad smirk? If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he was simply looking down on her.

"Interesting." Shane responded.

Shane looked Tyra over a second time. As his eyes moved around her body there were three things that caught his attention. The first and most obvious was that she was black. Not that being black was a big deal to Shane, it was more the fact that he found it "interesting" that John's female guest was black. Shane smirked to himself as he assumed that possibly John's gimmick had gotten to his head. The second thing was Tyra's body. Not only did Tyra have a beautiful face, the first thing John himself had noticed when he saw her, but she also had curves that would give Trish Stratus a run for her money. If it weren't for the fact that Tyra was probably the least pretentious person you could meet, she could have easily transitioned into a WWE diva. Regardless of color, Shane couldn't help but to take in her body with his eyes, a thousand dirty thoughts running through his brain.

And lastly, Shane noticed that the shoes Tyra wore were discolored and worn down. Although Tyra did her best to wear whatever new, up-to-date clothes she could find, she could only pull off so much. She didn't have the money to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe just for one simple date with someone she had just met. Little did she know that someone would actually take such notice of her that they would study her three year old pair of shoes.

Shane simply shook his head in pity. He wondered if John actually knew that the girl he was with was nothing more than a wannbe from the ghetto trying to be someone she wasn't.

"Nice to meet you." Tyra nervously said to Shane with a smile.

Shane smiled back at her, and although his face said one thing, his thoughts said something completely different. He was running a show and had no time to be fraternizing with someone who was so obviously below him.

"You too sweetie. Lita, shouldn't you be warming up for your match?" Shane asked as he basically disregarded Tyra's attempt to make small talk.

Lita nodded. As Shane turned to leave Lita placed an arm around Tyra. She could tell that Tyra was very uncomfortable with the whole exchange.

"Ignore him. Let's just say he's a little too protective of the business. He'll warm up to you once he realizes you're not here to distract the biggest asset this company has to offer right now." Lita explained.

Tyra was confused though.

"Biggest asset? Distract?" Tyra asked.

"You know John." Lita replied. Tyra shook her head as if to say, "oh yea, him." Lita continued. "Judging from the way John was acting around you, I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot more of you." Lita said smiling as she led Tyra away to show her around some more.

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Off in the distance, and going unnoticed to Tyra or Lita, Shelton Benjamin watched the two girls as they walked away. A smile came across his face.

"Damn, now that's one woman I am going to have to meet." He said to himself as he rubbed his chin and grinned.

**A/N:** I just wanted to thank DivaDaddyGoGirl again for her awesome challenge. If you are enjoying this story, make sure to drop her a line and thank her for the idea. You also may want to read one of her stories. She's got some good ones like "The Betting Game". Anyway, let me know what you all think so far. Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Tyra stood backstage in front of a monitor and watched as what looked like to her, Edge and John literally killing each other. She had to keep reminding herself that it was all fake, but at some points during the match it looked more real than made her comfortable. Although this was the first time she had ever seen a wrestling match in her life, it gave her a whole new respect for all the performers out there doing there thing in the ring. Whether they were playing 'good guys' or 'bad guys', they all were risking life and limb to entertain the audience.

"You enjoying the show?" An unfamiliar voice asked her from behind.

When Tyra turned she was looking into one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen.

"Name's Shelton." The man said as he introduced himself to Tyra and held out his hand.

Although Tyra had never heard of Shelton Benjamin before, she did see him in the ring earlier that night, and she had to admit, he was one hell of an athlete. She also couldn't help but to notice what a sexy little smile he had.

"Tyra." She replied and then shook Shelton's hand.

Turning her attention back to the monitor, Shelton ran his eyes all over her body. It wasn't very common to see a beautiful young black woman just hanging around backstage and as soon as Shelton saw Tyra, he knew he had to figure out what her story was.

"So Lita tells me you're here with Cena. That true?" Shelton asked.

"Uh yes. I'd never seen anything like this before. Wrestling that is. He thought I might want to see it first hand." Tyra responded.

Truth be told, the question made her somewhat uncomfortable. Although she was happy as hell that John had actually asked her out, she wasn't completely sure where his head was at. The last thing she wanted to do was assume he was actually interested in her only to find out after tonight she would never hear from him again. For that reason she tried to choose her words carefully.

"Oh I see. I should thank John then." Shelton said flirtatiously smiling at Tyra.

Tyra couldn't help but to feel a little uncomfortable. It was obvious now to her that Shelton was hitting on her. He was actually staring to remind her of some of the sweet talkers in her neighborhood. The ones with all the smooth lines who proved to be nothing more than players.

"So what do you think then of all this?" Shelton continued.

"It's amazing. I'm very impressed." Tyra responded honestly and then looked up at the monitor as she noticed John's match against Edge was just ending.

There was a part of her that was relieved. Shelton's come-ons were starting to make her nervous. She barely knew the man and already he was looking her over, practically undressing her with his eyes. She would have much preferred to have John standing next to her at the moment.

"You should be." Shelton responded confidently as he winked at Tyra.

Tyra looked around her. Where was Lita when she needed her? Where was Randy? Where was John? Those seemed to be the three people that put her at ease the most. For the most part, almost everyone she had met tonight were pretty nice and cordial. There were only two people that seemed to make her nervous based solely on first impressions. First it was Shane McMahon with his nose up in the air attitude, and now Shelton.

"So listen baby, what do you say we go out for a few drinks? I can show you how us wrestlers do it." Shelton asked.

This of course was the last thing she wanted to hear. Even though Tyra knew that is exactly where Shelton was headed the minute he walked over to her, she still hoped he wouldn't actually ask the question. She was hoping that her night with John might last longer than just the end of the show. John was the man she was dying to get to know better, not Shelton.

"Sorry Shelton. You're very nice but I'd rather just stay with John tonight." Tyra responded and then turned away once again searching for anyone that could provide her an escape.

Shelton looked at Tyra and smiled. In his mind John was no competition. Tyra was a beautiful black woman, Shelton was a good looking, well built black man. John Cena was nothing but a white boy who simply wished he were a brother from the hood.

"You gotta watch out for those white boys girl. You know all they want to do is get in bed with a beautiful black woman like yourself just so they can say they did it with a black chick." Shelton warned half jokingly and half sincere.

"I'll keep that in mind." Tyra responded, unamused by the comment.

Just then John arrived, still wiping his face with a towel and drinking a bottle of water.

"Hey Tyra, I see you met Shelton." John said as he placed his hand behind Tyra's back just to show her a little affection without causing too much of a scene. This simple gesture though was not lost on Shelton who didn't appreciate it at all.

"Yes. I was just telling him how impressed I am with what you guys do out there. It was way more than I expected." Tyra replied.

John smiled down at her. If he could have accomplished anything at all tonight it was to impress Tyra. Before inviting her to the show he was a little nervous about what she might think. It's not like she was your typical sixteen year old kid hooked on videos games and backyard wrestling. Hell, she worked at a bookstore. She had to be smart right?

"Glad you enjoyed it. Some of the guys are going out for a few drinks, you wanna go?" John asked.

Tyra looked over at Shelton who had his eyes pinned on hers. She knew her response would not make him happy, but who cares. She didn't want her night with John to end. Even though she was nervous as hell when John first brought her to the arena, she was finally starting to loosen up. Seeing John do something he loved to do, and did for a living intrigued her. She definitely wanted to get to know John better and would hold onto this moment for as long as she could.

"Sure, I'd love to." Tyra responded.

"Shelton, you going?" John asked, not knowing yet that Shelton had just asked Tyra out only moments ago.

"I think I'll pass. You two have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Shelton responded smiling to cover up the fact that the idea of John and Tyra going out for drinks upset him more than he expected.

John looked over at Tyra and grabbed for her hand leading her away. As Shelton watched the two of them go he smiled to himself.

"No way Cena has a chance, no way." He said to himself laughing as he walked away.

Even though Shelton and John had always got along, John simply just wasn't one of Shelton's brothers. He was a cool guy, yes, but he could never truly understand what it meant to be black. He would never truly understand the struggles that Shelton has had to live through, or Tyra for that matter. For Shelton it was almost comical to see Tyra and John together. Where he came from you just don't do that sort of thing. Shelton had hoped though that John and Tyra would at least hit it off well enough that John would invite her to the next Raw taping. That way, he could seal the deal with Tyra once and for all the next time he saw her.

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John held Tyra's hand tight in his. Now the nerves started to kick in again for Tyra. There was no doubt that there was an obvious physical attraction between the two, but what would John think when he figured out that Tyra was nothing more than a black girl from the hood. Surely he had been used to all kinds of women flaunting themselves at him. What chance did a girl from inner city Boston have? Unbeknownst to Tyra, she would soon find out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

John held Tyra's hand tight as they walked into the bar to meet up with Randy, Lita, Carlito and a few other WWE wrestlers.

"Whoa, I don't believe we met." Carlito said to Tyra with a boyish smirk on his face as he looked her over.

"Easy tiger." John said laughing at his friend.

"You better watch out for this guy." Carlito warned Tyra as he nudged John with his elbow.

Tyra looked over at John. She wondered how much of that statement would be true. So far though, John had been a complete gentleman the whole night. Tyra had told herself to not hold any expectations for what would happen when this night actually ended. She had already done more than she had done in her whole life. She couldn't wait to tell her friend Anthony about all the WWE Superstars she had met. That alone would make it all worth it regardless of if she would ever see John again. Tyra couldn't help but to think though that at midnight she might turn into a pumpkin.

"Hey guys over here!" Lita called out as she waved John and Tyra over to where she and Randy were sitting.

"Catch you later man. By the way you haven't seen Candice here tonight have you?" John said to Carlito who by the end of the night was sure to have hit on every woman at the bar.

"Not yet, but if she knows you're here I'm sure she'll show up." Carlito responded. "See you later African Princess." Carlito said to Tyra smiling and then was on his way.

Tyra held her laugh as she watched Carlito go. She could tell he was the comedian of the group and liked him almost instantly. If she would have know earlier how many good-looking, cool guys there were in the WWE, maybe she would have convinced her Gram to invest in a working television instead of paying the water bill. But then again, having running water is kind of important.

"Who's Candice?" Tyra asked John curiously.

John stiffened his lower lip as if not wanting to answer the question.

"Just someone I'm trying to avoid." John responded.

Truth be told, John and Candice had somewhat of a short fling together; very short. As soon as John realized that Candice was nothing more than a two-timing gold digger, he quickly ended the relationship. Of course Candice was none too pleased about it.

"Hey Tyra, glad you made it." Randy said as John and Tyra approached their table.

Tyra noticed right away that Randy was sitting awfully close to Lita. Poor Lita, she had managed to piss half the population of women off by being with both Matt Hardy and Edge, now the other half would hate her for being with Randy.

"I forced her to come." John said smirking over at Tyra.

For the first time in a while John felt comfortable with the woman he was with. He had gone through a long stretch of meeting women only to find out they were simply looking to sleep with a wrestler. Tyra didn't fall into that category. Hell, she didn't even know who John was until the autograph signing. If he didn't know any better, there were times that Tyra even seemed bored with the whole thing.

"What's your poison? It's on me." John said.

Not knowing for sure if John's invitation to accompany him backstage qualified as a date, Tyra was sure to grab whatever cash she had in case she needed it to get a taxi home or buy her own meal. Including the five dollars her Gram managed to sneak into her pocket, Tyra was sitting on a total of ten dollars. The drinks at the bar went for six dollars a pop. So when John offered to buy, Tyra was more than a little relieved.

"Apple martini." Tyra responded. Not that she was a big drinker, but she figured why not order something she rarely had the money to afford.

"So what did you think of everything tonight? And be honest." John asked Tyra.

Tyra looked over at John, Randy and Lita whose eyes were no focused on her. If should could have frozen this moment and taken a step back she would have. There she was, a girl from the hood, sitting at a table with three of the biggest WWE Superstars of all time, all of them waiting to hear what SHE thought. It was a little surreal, but Tyra refused to break under the pressure.

"I loved it. You all are pretty amazing and everyone was so nice." She responded diplomatically.

"Everyone?" Randy questioned raising an eyebrow.

Tyra had to admit, not everyone was made her feel as welcomed as John and his friends had.

"Well, I kind of got a bad vibe from Shane McMahon and Shelton. Shane seemed like he didn't even want me there, like I was in the way or something. And Shelton, I don't know, there was just something about him. Maybe because I was nervous." She admitted.

"Nah, Shelton wants you. I could tell by the way he was looking at you. I'll say something to him if you want me to." John suggested.

Not only did Shelton like what he saw in Tyra, but he also hated the fact that she was with John. Friend or no friend, Shelton did not approve of their relationship. He wasn't the only one though.

"No please, it's okay. It was no big deal." Tyra responded quickly.

The last thing she wanted to do was cause a rift between John and his friends backstage. John's statement did make her wonder though, did this mean there would be a second date?

"And just ignore Shane. He thinks he's better than everyone because his last name is McMahon. Kind of like Orton over here." John said unable to resist a little heckling directed in Randy's direction.

"Hey now, can I help it that my genes are superior?" Randy said retorting back, leaving Lita to roll her eyes at him.

"I'm actually surprised ShaneO didn't hit on you as well. The guy thinks his money makes him God's gift to women." Lita finished.

Even though Tyra appreciated the fact that Lita was trying to make her feel better about the whole Shane situation, deep inside she knew that the reason Shane was such a jerk to her had more to do with the color of her skin and the fact that she her entire wardrobe probably cost less than his tie alone. Tyra was never one to make judgments based on first impressions, but she was pretty sure that her take on Shane was correct.

"The guy's just trying to over compensate for the fact that if it weren't for Vince, he'd be flipping burgers somewhere and getting his ass kicked on a daily basis." John replied while everyone else got a laugh.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Later on that night John drove Tyra home. It was now close to 1:00am and well past the time Tyra had told her Gram to expect her home. Tyra herself was having such a good time at the bar, she lost track of time. It was John who finally asked if she was ready to go.

"You sure you want me to drop you off here?'" John asked confused as he pulled up to Ray's bookstore.

Tyra hesitated before answering. Even though John had never intentionally made her feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about who she was, she just didn't want him to see where she lived. The thought of what he might think was killing her inside.

"Yes, this is fine, I have some things I need to finish up at the store." Tyra lied.

John raised an eyebrow. It was obvious to him that Tyra was hiding something.

"There's no way I'm leaving you here. Why don't I just take you home?" John insisted.

Damn him for being such a gentleman Tyra thought to herself. It was now time to keep things in perspective though. The fact that John had asked her out in the first place blew her mind. But in reality he would be on the road the following day in a new city. Maybe, just maybe the next time he was in Boston he'd look her up, but really what were the odds? So what if he thought she was nothing more than a poor black girl from the hood with no future, this would probably be the end of the road for her and John anyway.

"Okay, corner of Martin Luther and 18th street." Tyra finally conceded.

John smiled over at Tyra. He desperately wanted to know more about the woman sitting next to him. She was so much different than anyone he had met before and if he accomplished anything at all tonight, it was that he had confirmed his first instincts about Tyra. Tyra was exactly the kind of woman John wanted to be with for more than just one night.

"That's better." John replied his dimples melting Tyra where she sat.

**A/N:** I'm moving a little slower with this than I had hoped but hopefully the tempo of this chapter didn't disrupt the overall story. I try not to fill whole chapters with just dialogue, but sometimes it's necessary to move the story along. But hey, what do you all think? Any thoughts you may have are welcome!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

John left the car running as he and Tyra sat just outside her apartment.

Tyra lived in an area know to most people as "The Projects". In other words, government assisted housing. Unfortunately, the buildings were old and dirty. Crime had pretty much taken over the neighborhood despite the fact that most of the people who lived there were like anyone else: hard working and just trying to survive.

John couldn't help but to feel odd knowing that the two of them were sitting in a $60,000 Black Range Rover. He knew the area and understood that most people didn't appreciate it when outsiders came in a flaunted their money around. It was something most drug dealers liked to do and if John wasn't careful he'd find himself in the police station answering lots of questions. Regardless, John was glad Tyra let him take her home as opposed to dropping her off at the book store. This way he knew she would get in safely.

"So, uh." John started. This was the most awkward time of any date regardless of who you were or how much money you had. "I hope you had a good time tonight."

Tyra wanted to laugh out loud but she held back. Of course she had a good time. Words couldn't describe what she was feeling and even if she tried, Tyra would find herself getting tongue tied in more ways than one.

"Yes I did. Thank you John, I really did." She replied modestly trying to keep her answers short.

John smiled. It was almost cute how polite he was being. The guy could be a total asshole and still get any woman he wanted. Lucky for Tyra, that just wasn't his style.

"So I was wondering." John started.

Tyra looked over at him. She had no idea what was coming.

"How important is that job at the bookstore to you?" He asked.

Tyra raised an eyebrow. The question made no sense at all. She couldn't even find the words to reply for fear of giving him the wrong answer.

"I guess what I'm asking is, would you be able to take some time off and travel with me to Cleveland?" John asked.

Travel to Cleveland? Was he actually saying get out of Boston; and with him? Tyra wondered to herself. Tyra had never gone anywhere outside of a 20 mile radius from her Gram's apartment. Granted Cleveland wasn't exactly a US city hotspot, but it was in a totally different state. Anthony and her Gram would freak if they knew she would be traveling so far away, and with a WWE Superstar.

"Well, I'll have to check with Mr. Ray, but I'm sure I could find someone to cover for me." Tyra explained.

"Cool. It will be fun. We tape on Mondays but the flight leaves on Thursday. I'll pick you up then."

Tyra could literally feel her legs shaking. She thought the excitement would kill her inside.

John waited to see if Tyra would respond, but he could tell she was trying to take it all in without looking foolish. He decided to spare her the embarrassment and just call it a night.

"Well, I'll see you then." John told her and then leaned in slowly to kiss her on the cheek.

Tyra could feel the softness of his lips melt into her skin. She longed at that moment to switch roles and just take John's face and force him to kiss her lips. No holding back. But she wasn't about to screw things up now. If John wanted to take things slow, so be it. Tyra would wait…..but only a little bit.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As Anthony turned toward the opened door of Ray's bookstore, he was almost tackled by Tyra.

"Oh my God, oh my God." Tyra repeated with overjoyed excitement. "John Cena asked me out again. Oh my God. I'm going to Cleveland with him." She exclaimed, practically squealing in a high pitched voice like a 12 year girl.

Anthony's eyes widened.

"You pulling my leg girl or what?" He asked finding it hard to believe a big shot like Cena would even find interest in a black girl from the hood.

Not that Tyra wasn't pretty enough, she was, but that was John Cena they were talking about. The guy's probably had more lays than Hawaii.

"No, it's true. Oh my God Anthony I had the best date. I got to meet a ton of wrestlers and…" Anthony held up his hand to her face.

"Damn girl, slow down. I can't keep up wit you." He told her. Once he was sure she was calm he asked her to continued. "Okay, who'd you meet?" He asked. Truth be told it was just as exciting for him to get to hear all the behind the scenes details as it was for her to describe them.

"Randy Orton. He was like really, really big and kind of a ladies man. I think him and Lita had something going on, but you didn't hear that from me." Tyra snickered.

"Oh man, Orton and Lita shacking up. No way! Okay who else?" Anthony asked anxiously.

"Well, Lita. She was super cool. Actually most of the women were pretty cool except someone named Candice. She just kept giving me this evil look." Tyra told him. She never did get a chance to actually speak to Candice, but that was because Candice was too busy just staring at her.

"Candice, she's pretty dope for a white girl. Man I'd like to tap that.." This time it was Tyra who cut off Anthony.

"I don't need to hear all that. Besides, I don't know if you could handle someone like that. She looked pretty high maintenance." Tyra admitted.

"Whatever Ty. Go on." Anthony requested somewhat deflated.

"Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon."

"Vince, he's like the man. No shit? What was he like? Did he make you kiss his ass?" Anthony said jokingly, referring to the Vince McMahon Kiss My Ass Club. The joke was totally lost on Tyra who'd never seen an episode or Raw until last night.

"Uh, no. He was polite, but seemed like he had a lot on his mind. Shane was kind of a jerk though. I don't think he appreciated the fact that I was with John, but maybe I was just reading into things."

Tyra didn't want to make too many harsh judgments on anyone. These were just first impressions. She had hoped that when she traveled to Cleveland she would see people like Shelton, Candice and Shane in a different light.

"ShaneOMac? I could whip his cracker ass in a second." Anthony declared shadow boxing in the process.

"Shelton Benjamin was kind of rude too. Cute, but a little on the aggressive side." Tyra finished.

"Yo man, don't be doggin' on my boy Shelton. He's got crazy skillz!" Anthony replied.

Shelton, Triple H, Kurt Angle and Lashley were by far his favorite wrestlers. The fact that Shelton looked at Tyra as if she was a piece of meat was no concern of his. The guy could wrestle like nobody's business, that's all that mattered to Anthony.

"Damn girl, you're making me wish I had boobs." Anthony told her.

Tyra rolled her eyes.

"If I had breasts than your boy Cena would have been asking me to the show and not you. Girls get everything, that is just so wack." Anthony said.

Of course he was jealous of Tyra. Anthony had been watching wrestling for years. Tyra didn't even know who John Cena was until he invited her to Raw.

"If you had boobs Anthony, you'd make one ugly girl and John still wouldn't have asked you out." Tyra retorted teasingly, although Anthony did have a point.

The statement made Tyra wonder if maybe John was just looking for an easy lay. But then Tyra thought about their night together. If John was looking for an easy fuck then certainly he would have made the moves on her in the car instead of planting a simple kiss on her cheek. And the fact that he asked her to accompany him to Cleveland? Well either John was looking for more than just an easy lay, or he was one hell of a player.

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. I've kind of been focusing on finishing up my other story "Hate Me" (shameless plug - please read and review if you haven't already), but I did get somewhat inspired to at least write the next chapter for this story from one of my reviewers (Thank you!). Anyway, hope you enjoyed and I hope to have another update in the next few weeks.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

John and Tyra arrived at the hotel in downtown Cleveland where Raw would be taped the following evening. The air outside was cold and Tyra couldn't help but to rub one hand across her arm to try and stay warm. John noticed right away and smiling, he moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her.

"You cold?" He asked.

"Just a little. It's got to be like 30 below out here." Tyra commented.

"We'll be inside in a second, until then though, do you mind?" John asked, making sure Tyra was comfortable with the way he held on to her.

Tyra could feel John brush his hand briskly up and down her arm, just as she had been doing only seconds ago. The only difference was he was way more successful at keeping her warm than she was.

As John and Tyra made their way through the lobby a bell hop greeted them immediately.

"Suite 202 is all ready sir. Your bags are in your room." The young man informed John and Tyra.

"Thanks man." John smiled.

John looked nothing like the kind of guy that would be receiving such treatment. There he was in a $200 a night posh hotel, shorts, t-shirt and Boston Celtics cap. When it came to treating their biggest superstar's right, the McMahon's spared no expense. Actually the only superstars who got to enjoy the luxuries of high priced hotels were The McMahon's themselves and whoever happened to be holding the WWE Championship belt. For now, that was John Cena. If you were to ask John about it all, he would laugh. Posh hotels really weren't his style and he often found the whole status quo system from which the McMahon's ran their company quite embarrassing.

John turned to Tyra whose eyes were gazing around at the huge lobby. He could tell right away she was totally out of her element and the whole thing was almost over-whelming for her. The more John thought about it, that's what had drawn him to Tyra in the first place. Sure she was black, she came from a bad neighborhood, and the chance of them actually hitting it off were slim to none, but John knew better. They had more in common than most people would suspect or even understand.

"I know, it's a little too much." John admitted hoping the statement would make Tyra more comfortable. "But between you and me, I don't have any problem at all with spending Vince's money. And neither should you." He finished smiling at her and nudging her in the side.

If it wasn't for the nudge to her side, Tyra would have never known John was actually talking to her. She just couldn't believe she would actually be spending the night in a place like this. This was a lifestyle she could get used to with no problem at all she thought to herself.

"Gram would shit." She said aloud, but to herself.

"What?" John asked.

Then Tyra caught herself realizing that her thoughts had escaped through her mouth.

"I mean, yeah, if you're comfortable with it, then so am I." Tyra said to John as the two followed the bell hop to the elevators.

While waiting for the elevator doors to open, John studied Tyra who for the moment was paying no attention to him. He could feel himself falling for the woman he had met out of nowhere. Sure, it was all awkward at first, the book signing, her first Raw show and now the posh hotel. But John couldn't imagine himself with any other woman for the time being. Black, white, yellow, poor, rich, clumsy, uncultured, whatever. All he knew is that Tyra was one hell of a woman and she was the only one he wanted to spend the night with.

Tyra watched as the elevator doors opened and was about to walk in, until she ran into Shane McMahon, who was on his way out. The bump almost landed Tyra on her ass, but Shane held her up.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry." Tyra said completely embarrassed.

Shane made sure Tyra was steady on her feet and then let her go, straightening his tie in the process.

"It's okay." He replied, not realizing yet that he had met the woman before and that she was with John.

"You alright?" John asked Tyra.

Tyra of course shook her head yes. She now worried if her clumsiness would be the death of her and John's relationship.

Shane now realized that the woman he had bumped into was the same woman Lita introduced him to backstage at the last Raw taping. He cocked his head at her before turning his attention to John.

"John, how you doing?" Shane asked extending his hand.

John took his hand and the two of them shook in a friendly gesture.

"Shane, this is Tyra." John mentioned not remembering that the two had already met.

Shane turned up his nose as he looked Tyra over. Again he noticed how rough around the edges she truly was. Not exactly the more upscale, diva-like women Shane was used to being around.

"Yes I remember. Do you work here?" Shane asked acting as if he were asking an honest question when in reality he was simply trying to put Tyra in her place.

Tyra knew exactly what he meant. It wasn't like she hadn't been on the receiving end of racist comments like that before.

"No, she's with me." John said, now holding Tyra's hand in his. He knew Shane's comment had stung her.

"Oh, okay. John listen, we need to have a little talk. Tyra, can you excuse us?" Shane asked trying to hide his disregard for her with fake politeness.

John looked over at Tyra.

"I'll be right back." He told her and then walked off to the side with Shane.

Tyra watched the two and couldn't help but to feel awkward. It was obvious Shane wasn't happy with the fact that John had brought her along. The last thing she wanted to do was interfere with his career.

"Listen John, when we put you guys up in hotels, we don't expect that you'll be sharing them with guests." Shane told John directly.

John smirked to himself. To him this was all just a bunch of corporate bullshit. John knew for a fact that both Vince and Shane had used the corporate spending account to entertain their own female guests in hotel rooms while they were traveling. Hell, it's not like this was the first time a wrestler had brought a guest with him on the road. John wondered why all of the sudden having someone like Tyra with him now was such a big problem.

John folded his arms across his chest. He honestly didn't give a damn what Shane said. Tyra was staying and he hoped she would be around for a long time. Shane and everybody else would just have to get used to it.

Shane looked over at Tyra one more time.

"These hotels aren't supposed to be your own little whore house John." He said smugly, laughing as if he had simply made a harmless joke.

John smiled at him sarcastically, but inside he was fuming. Just because his last name was McMahon, didn't give him the right to make comments like that, especially when the comments were directed toward someone like Tyra. John clenched his fist trying hard to resist the temptation to punch Shane in the mouth.

"I'll let it slide this time Cena, but if you want to get involved with someone like that, do it on your own free time, not on our time." Shane said winking at John as he turned to leave.

John watched as Shane walked through the lobby and out the front door of the hotel to his awaiting limo.

"Jackass." John said to himself as he shook his head and made his way back to Tyra.

"Everything okay?" Tyra asked.

She could see in John's face that whatever conversation he and Shane were having, that it wasn't a good one.

"It's fine. Just do me a favor, if you see Shane McMahon, walk the other direction. He may seem like a nice guy, but he's more of a grade A asshole than anything else." John replied, still searing from the comments Shane made only seconds ago.

"You sure it's okay for me to be here?" Tyra asked knowing full well that her name was probably mentioned somewhere in the conversation he had just had with Shane.

"Absolutely." John replied adamantly. "Now let's get up to our room. Randy, Lita and Carlito are waiting for us at the bar."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Back at the hotel John received a phone call on his cell phone.

""Hey Randy, what's up?" He asked his friend on the other line. "Drinks, yeah man. We'll be there in ten. Later." John said and then closed his phone.

"Randy wants us to meet him, Lita and a few others at the bar downstairs. You up for that?" John asked Tyra with a smile.

Tyra had already met Randy and Lita a few times so the more she hung around John's friends the easier is was for her to think of them as just people instead of wrestling Superstars. Although she would have much preferred to spend the evening lying in John's arms, she knew better. They weren't exactly at that point in their relationship as far as she was concerned, and she had come to realize that John liked to go out and have a good time. Since their run in with Shane McMahon, she didn't want to drag John down any more while on the trip, so she agreed to simply do whatever John wanted to do. She would have a good time regardless.

"Of course I'm up for it." She replied smiling.

John smiled back and planted a simple kiss on her forehead. Simple to John that is, but much more than that to Tyra. She was still living a dream and as she followed John around in his world of wrestling shows, nice hotels, beautiful people, autograph seekers and unlimit money to spend, she almost felt more like an observer than a participant. She just couldn't help but to think that somewhere around the corner, things would not be as great as they seemed.

John grabbed his wallet and a Celtics cap before he took Tyra's hand and stepped outside their room and into the hallway. Just as they were about to take the elevator to the top floor, where Randy and Lita were waiting at the bar, John stood in front of Tyra and held both her hands. Then somewhat strangely to Tyra, he stood there for a long second staring into her eyes. A goofy, but sexy smile planted on his lips.

"You look really cute tonight Tyra. I just wanted you to know that before I miss my chance to tell you." John said and then leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

The spark that shot through Tyra's body almost made her jump, but she somehow was able to keep her composure. Every touch from that man seemed to hypnotize her. If John wanted her to jump off a cliff, she would in that moment probably have done it. Looking back on her life she would have never thought a white boy like this could have so easily swept a street smart girl from the hood, like herself, off her feet.

John for his part still had a bitter taste in his mouth from the way Shane had made Tyra uncomfortable earlier in the evening. So, before dragging her off to meet with his friends, he simply wanted her to know that regardless of what anyone thought, she was beautiful to him. Knowing full well that Tyra was in a new city, meeting new people all the time and away from the people she knew and loved, John went out of his way to try and give her a home away from home. He had hoped his words of encouragement would do just that.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Once John and Tyra entered the bar they were immediately greeted by Randy and Lita. Lita gave Tyra a friendly hug while John and Randy shook hands.

"Hey man, look who's over there." Randy said leaning into John so that Tyra would not hear him.

John glanced over in the direction Randy nodded toward and his smile disappeared almost immediately. Over in the corner, sharing a few drinks with Torie Wilson was a woman he had a short fling with before realizing that it would never go anywhere, Candice Michelle.

Candice was one of the newer divas and a very flirtatious one at that. As soon as she had laid her eyes on John she knew she wanted him. So she spent months pursuing him until finally one night after a show they had a few drinks and one thing led to another. It was one of those things John still regrets doing to this day. He had hoped to just forget the fact that he even slept with her, but things had become so much more difficult than that. Candice would never forget their time together and ever since then has continued her pursuit of John regardless of how many times he has tried to blow her off.

"Who's that?" Tyra asked as she noticed John's eye pinned on the woman across the bar.

"Nobody Ty, just a couple of divas I didn't expect to be here." John replied and then turned to Randy in anger. "Thanks for the warning by the way." He said.

Randy held up his hands in innocence.

"Hey man, don't get pissed at me. She arrived after I spoke to you." He said, smirking at John's overreactive attitude. "Just ignore her man." He advised.

"Right, easy for you to say." John said rolling his eyes at his friend.

As Tyra and John made their way to the bar to order a few drinks, Tyra couldn't help but to stare over at the two women who so obviously had John's attention. So as they got a little closer she noticed one of the women was Candice. The same diva who had giver her some odd looks the first time she accompanied John at Raw. For whatever reason, Tyra got the distinct impression that Candice did not like her, and from the looks on John's face, it seemed there was some history between the two.

"Here you go." John said as he handed Tyra a glass of wine. "To kicking ass at Raw tomorrow and spending McMahon's money tonight!" John said as he raised his glass to Tyra, Randy and Lita in a toast.

As the friends all clinked glasses, Candice made her way over to John without him noticing.

"Hey Candice." Randy announced upon seeing the voluptuous brunette. "How are you?" He then finished, smiling at the young diva.

Lita nudged him quickly in the side noticing the grin on Randy's face.

"Do you mind?" She asked as a trace of jealousy began to show.

"What? I was just being nice." Randy responded innocently leaving Lita to roll her eyes and drag the Legend Killer away.

"We'll be over here." Lita told Tyra and John. If it wasn't already evident, Lita wasn't exactly Candice's biggest fan.

"Hi John. Good to see you here. Mind if I have a word?" She asked John, looking over Tyra and measuring her up with her eyes.

John turned to Tyra. First Shane, now Candice. If John wasn't careful he was sure that this would be the last time Tyra would agree to come out with him on the road. He knew better than anyone that Candice would not like Tyra simply because she was with him. Candice was used to getting what she wanted and she certainly wouldn't let someone from the street win John's heart over if she could help it.

"Actually I do Candice. As you can see I'm here with someone. We'll talk later okay." John replied hoping Candice would take the hint to just leave.

Candice smiled over at Tyra. She was a cute girl, but just not in John's league at all. At least that's what Candice thought of her anyway.

"Come on John, just one second." Candice begged, moving closer to John and placing a hand on his thigh seductively.

John rolled his eyes. He knew that if he didn't oblige Candice would make a scene. He could see that Tyra was already starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Okay, one second." John said, and then leaned over to Tyra. "You mind, I'll just be right back okay?" He told her.

Tyra nodded. This was starting to feel like dejavous.

As soon as Candice got John out of earshot from Tyra, the inquisition began.

"Cute girl, but what are you doing here with her John? It's not like she's your type." Candice said getting right to the point.

"My type, how do you know what my type is Candice?" John asked defensively.

"Well you know what I mean. I just hope you're not going to use her and then throw her away like you did to me. I mean really John look at her." Candice said.

"Yeah, I see her and she's hot. And as far as me and you go I made a mistake. My intention was never to use you Candice. I was drunk. You need to move on." John insisted.

Candice rolled her eyes. It wasn't so easy to move on when the object of her affection worked on the very same show as she did.

"Well, Shane and Vince aren't going to like you having her around. I'd hate for her to cause you all that trouble." Candice returned trying desperately to put a negative spin on John's new interest before things went too far.

"Yeah, ShaneO's already warned me, but he can kiss my ass. If Vince has a problem with it, then I'll deal, but so far that hasn't been the case. The only two people who seem to be making an issue out of it so far are you and Shane. Maybe you two should hook up or something instead of getting into my business." John said and then turned to leave without giving Candice a chance to reply back.

Candice watched John as he made his way back over to Tyra and then give her a kiss on the cheek. Candice was certain in her mind that John was simply putting on a show for her, trying to make her jealous. It was a sure sign that John truly wanted to be with Candice and not Tyra. At least that's how Candice figured it in her own mind.

"You ready for another drink?" John asked Tyra, trying to cover up his irritation.

"Sure. Promise me if I start acting like a fool you'll cut me off though." Tyra said half jokingly.

John smiled. He loved her sense of humour and down to earth personality. It was such a breath of fresh air from some of the other divas he had been so used to being around. Especially divas like Candice.

Tomorrow was Raw and John was sure that both Candice and Shane would have a fit when he brought Tyra back stage with him. Regardless, he wouldn't let them spoil his chance to get to know her better. Little did he know though that there would be one other person trying to stand in his way. Worse yet, someone he considered a friend.

**A/N: Sorry the updates are few and far between. Just trying to finish my other story. Hope you liked this chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As John walked backstage holding Tyra's hand tightly he thought about the inevitable stares and confrontations. This was the second time he had brought the same woman to a show. For most wrestlers, even for John, that was a rarity. When a wrestler brought a woman to a show a first time the woman was generally though of as a ring rat. But to bring the same girl to two Raw's in a row, now that was serious.

"Hey John, Tyra!" Randy Orton called out as he approached them.

John nodded to his friend as Tyra smiled as well.

"John, we got a match tonight." Randy informed, then leaned over and jokingly nudges Tyra in the side. "Watch me kick his ass." He told her with a devilish wink and a smirk.

Tyra couldn't help but to laugh. She could totally see why John was friends with the man, he was an absolute goofball. Despite what her friend Anthony said about him being the conceited Legend Killer and all that, he was more of an easy going prankster to her.

"That might be fun to see." Tyra retorted going along with Randy's comment.

John raised an eyebrow as if to say, what the fk, but then quickly smiled.

He loved how Tyra was beginning to feel more and more comfortable around some of the other wrestlers especially when it came to his friends backstage.

"Well, I better leave you two alone. Lita's warming up. I'm going to see how long it takes before I can get her to tell me to fuck off. Last time it only took five minutes, but I'm sure I can do better than that." Randy said with a smile and then took off down the hallway.

Both Tyra and John watched him leave laughing. Yes, Randy loved to get under people's skin, but you couldn't help but to like the guy. Somehow he managed to capture Lita's heart and she seemed willing to put up with all his shenanigans. Hell, even John had to admit, they made a very odd, but handsome looking couple.

"If all those fans out there only knew what a total loveable jackass he really was." John commented to Tyra and then grabbed for her hand one more time and led her away.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As John and Tyra continued to make their way backstage, they saw Vince and Shane heading in their direction. John was sure that Shane would take the opportunity to say something, but to his surprise both Shane and Vince simply walked by with a nod. Vince even had a grin on his face as he noticed John was with a girl. Shane on the other hand gave Tyra a crooked smirk. It was funny to Tyra that the guy couldn't even offer a fake smile anymore. His smirk though told volumes. Shane was pissed to see her there after warning John not to bring her around. Tyra saw right through Shane McMahon and she hoped that John wouldn't soon have to pay any repercussions for her presence backstage. Although she loved being there and with John, she certainly didn't want John to have to deal with the stares and underhanded dealings she has had to cope with her whole life simply because she was black and from the hood.

Once John and Tyra reached the dressing room, John asked Tyra to wait for him outside while he changed into his wrestling gear. While she waited, Shelton Benjamin approached her from behind.

Before even saying a word he took a long hard look at her ass and smiled as he rubbed his chin.

"Hey sexy." He said to her.

Tyra turned around to see Shelton standing in front of her with a smile on his face. Even though she had to admit he had a cute smile, he was way too much of a player for her to even want to get to know him. But, for John's sake she would do her best. She knew that John and Shelton were friends, so in that regard she would at least attempt to be cordial regardless of how uncomfortable she was feeling.

"Hi Shelton. Nice to see you again." She said as her eyes shifted away from his uncomfortably.

"So you here with John I take it?" Shelton inquired.

"Yeah, he's getting changed. He'll be out soon though." Tyra replied hoping that if Shelton knew John would come walking out at any minute, he'd take it easy on the overly aggressive flirting she was now having to endure.

Shelton raised an eyebrow. John may have been a friend but Shelton simply could not fathom how a hot black girl like Tyra could even like a white boy like John. In Shelton's mind, Tyra deserved a strong, sexy black man like himself. So, cutting right to the chase, Shelton moved up close to Tyra to ask her a question. Almost too close in Tyra's opinion.

"So straight up girl, what are you doing with a white boy like Cena? You know he's just going to hurt you. What does he know about where you came from. He's not like us." Shelton said with a smile. He was sure that by implying John could never be the man for her simply because he was white would help Tyra see that she needed to be with someone in her own race.

Tyra on the other hand wanted to slap Shelton in the face. Not only was he John's friend and blatantly hitting on her, but he was acting no better than someone like Shane McMahon. Tyra could care less where John was from or what color his skin was. All she knew was that he turned her stomach upside-down every time she saw him. Her childlike crush for the man was now turning into something more real and substantial. Something a guy like Shelton would never understand.

"Sorry Shelton, but I don't live like that." Tyra said plainly. The feisty street spirit inside of her now starting to come out.

Shelton knew exactly what she meant and he didn't like it. That was the second time she had blown him off. But before Shelton could respond John had emerged from the dressing room.

"Yo Shelton, what's up man?" John asked as he saw his friend with Tyra.

Shelton looked over at John. His jealousy now starting to take control. As wrestling brothers, John and Shelton had a lot of good history between them. They were always there for each other when it came to putting in a good word to upper management. Outside of wrestling though, John was still white and Shelton was still black. Their worlds couldn't have been farther apart. So despite the fact that Shelton saw John as a friend in the WWE, it was almost too easy to hate him when it came to fighting over a woman.

"What's with the yo crap bro?" Shelton asked trying to embarrass John in front of Tyra.

After Shelton's comment it had quickly become obvious to John that something was up. He just didn't know what it was. Shelton continued.

"Catch you later thug boy." Shelton finished condescendingly and then walked away.

John simply shrugged his shoulders. Shelton had always been a pretty easy going, cool guy to him in the past. The fact that he was being such a chump now threw him for a loop.

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"Hey Shelton, come on in." Shane said as Shelton peeked his head through the office door were Shane was standing, enjoying a catered plate full or fruits and mini sandwiches.

"Hey Shane what's up? JR said you were looking for me." Shelton replied as he walked over to Shane and shook his hand politely.

Shelton rarely got called to meet with any of the McMahons. He was still considered mid card talent so when story ideas were presented to him they were usually handed to him in the form of a last minute script, never was there a meeting of the minds to discuss what would happen in an angle and why. He was simply told who he would be booked against and how to act.

"Yeah man I was." Shane replied acting as if he was one of the boys. "We think it's time you get a heel push." Shane advised as he finished eating a grape.

Shelton smiled. He had been waiting a long time for a decent push. Shane continued as Shelton was all ears.

"We want you to feud with Cena." Shane told him. "But here's the deal. You know that girl he's been bringing to the shows?"

Shelton nodded. He knew exactly who Shane was referring to, Tyra.

"We're going to make her an example."

Shelton raised an eyebrow. He wasn't exactly sure what Shane was talking about when he said "example".

"What do you mean Shane?" Shelton asked.

"I mean, John knows better than to bring someone like that around. He's the WWE Champion. So, if he wants to make a mockery of the championship like that, then we will have to teach him a lesson. I'll be out on stage later tonight saying some pretty harsh things about the girl. I just want to make sure you don't take any offense to it or anything. It's for the story, nothing personal." Shane explained.

Suddenly it all made sense to Shelton. His first instinct was to tell Shane to fuck off. Even though Shelton hated seeing Tyra with John and didn't agree with interracial relationships at all, he still felt the need to protect Tyra. The last thing he wanted was to see one of his own degraded in front of thousands of people just because she was black. Even if it was solely for entertainment and storyline purposes. On the other hand, Shelton didn't agree with what John was doing either. In his mind, John would simply use Tyra just to say he fucked a black girl. John wasn't good enough for Tyra and he never would be as long as his skin was white. This would be the perfect opportunity for Shelton to make sure Tyra and John didn't have a chance of being together.

"So what do you think?" Shane asked.

Shelton contemplated further and then responded.

"I'm in." He replied with a grin and then once again Shane and Shelton shook hands.

**A/N: For those of you who thought that Randy would be the one to get in the way and are disappointed, sorry. First, Randy has Lita and they make such a cute couple, no way would I do anything to destroy that little fling (lol), second my intention was to make it Shelton all along. Hope you still enjoy the story and my decision. Let me know what you think and thank you so much for all your reviews. I'm certainly open to ideas if you don't like how this is going.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

John and Tyra stood backstage watching a monitor as Raw opened with a segment involving Shane McMahon. Tyra couldn't help but to laugh as she heard Shane's theme music blaring through the loud speakers.

"Uh, isn't that Naughty By Nature?" Tyra asked confused.

John shook his head, he knew exactly what Tyra was thinking, especially when Shane got into the ring and started hitting his chest and giving the crowd the peace sign as if he was straight of out Brooklyn. John leaned in close to Tyra.

"He's a used car salesman" He whispered making sure no one could hear.

Tyra looked over at John and couldn't help but to crack up laughing. That's exactly what she thought the first time she met ShaneOMac.

Back in the ring, Shane called to Lillian Garcia for the mic and then waited for his music to stop. The crowd reacted with mostly boos and a few cheers. Stephanie and Shane in particular always seemed to get a mixed reaction until they opened their mouths. Then the boos were usually over whelming.

'I'd like to take this moment to call out The Champ, John Cena, and his special guest for this evening." Shane started, smirking under his breath. The crowd popped in anticipation of seeing John come out to the ring.

Backstage, John and Tyra looked at each other with confused looks and waited for Shane to continue, wondering exactly where he was going with his monologue.

"Now John didn't bring just anybody with him to the arena." Shane continued on. "I'm sorry to tell you this ladies but John's got himself a regular, uh, what's the word they use in the hood, 'hoochie mama'!" Shane blurted out and laughed to himself, extremely proud of the words he'd chosen.

John and Tyra were shocked. Tyra looked around completely embarrassed. She'd been called a lot of names before in her life but nothing so degrading and in front of so many people. She prayed her Gram was not somehow watching.

"That bastard." John spat under his breath with his fists now clentched.

Shane continued.

"Come on out here John, come on out and show everyone how you settled for one of the hood's finest." Shane paused for a moment as if pondering his next thought. "Frankly John, I'm surprised your wigger mentality has gone this far to your head." Shane finished with a big grin on his face. Now all he had to do was wait for John to appear.

John in the meantime had heard enough. He wanted to go out there and kick Shane's ass so bad they'd have to scrape him off the mat. Tyra was now practically in tears. Never in a thousand years could she imagine someone could be so cruel, even if it was just for storyline purposes.

"Son of a bitch!" John fumed as he headed toward the curtains that lead out to the ring ramp.

Before he could get too far Randy Orton ran in front of him. He wanted to calm John as much as possible before he made his way out to the ring and did something he'd regret.

Lita in the meantime was now with Tyra trying hard to give her some comfort for what had just been said.

"Don't do anything stupid John, you know he's just trying to get under your skin. Fuck him." Randy said while placing a hand on John's chest to hold him back.

"I can't let him get away with that shit Randy, you heard what the mother fucker said." John replied angrily.

"Yeah, I know man, just try to be cool." Randy urged.

Randy knew better than anyone that in order to get over as a heel with the crowd, you had to say some pretty controversial things. He'd been the victim of poor story writing during the whole Rey Mysterio feud. The main difference here was that Eddie's family agreed to the storyline and John and Tyra did not. Shane's words were personal and both Tyra and John knew it. Randy knew better than to fight John on this one, but at the same time he didn't want his friend to be without a job either.

"Thanks man, but Shane dug his own grave." John said. "I'm going to shove my fist down fucking throat!"

Randy looked at his friend and then let him go. Ultimately he agreed with John and everybody else in the arena, Shane deserved the ass kicking he was about to get.

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As soon as John appeared, the chorus of boos that filled the arena now turned to a thunderous boom of cheers. Everyone knew that John was going to kick Shane McMahon's ass.

Shane watched John as he marched down the ramp with fire in his eyes. Just as John got close enough and rolled into the ring, Shane quickly made his way under the ropes and jumped down off of the ring apron. He at this point didn't want to have anything to do with The Champ.

John stood crouched down waving Shane back into the ring. Any lip reader could plainly see that John didn't care what four letter words slipped out of his mouth.

"Come on you mother fucker." He yelled.

Shane smirked at John and made his way over to Lillian as a shield.

"Where the hell is Shelton?" He asked himself not knowing how long he could keep John away.

Then no sooner than the thought entered his mind did Shelton come storming through the crowd and into the ring behind John. Before John had any time to react, Shelton hit him hard with a chair, causing The Champ to fall to the ground.

Once Shane was sure John could not get up, he slithered back into the ring and smiled wide at Shelton. A new feud had begun. Shane raised Shelton's hand in mock victory while the crowd booed.

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As soon as Shelton and Shane made their way back stage they saw Lita with her arms wrapped around Tyra in comfort, and Tyra with her head down in tears.

Shane stopped in front of Tyra.

"I'm sorry Tyra, but this is just business." Shane looked back at the monitor and watched as the ref helped John to his feet. "He'll be fine, just a little headache later. Nothing a little love can't cure." Shane finished as he leaned his body slightly to check out Tyra's ass, simply to emphasize the insinuation he was trying to make.

Shelton laughed at the comment. He was enjoying the fact that John was now in a weakened state. He hoped that now Tyra would understand that if she decided to stay with John, it would be hell for the both of them, especially if Tyra continued to be backstage.

As Shane and Shelton walked away, Lita continued to hold Tyra.

"Don't let them bother you." She pleaded, but despite Lita's efforts to sooth the situation, Tyra bit back.

"Don't let them bother me? You heard what Shane called me, you saw what Shelton did to John. I may have lived in the same run down neighborhood my whole life, and maybe I don't know a lot about the wrestling business, but that was wrong Lita." Tyra replied, the anger now overcoming her tears.

"I know Tyra, I now." Lita complied as the two women waited for John to return backstage.

**A/N: A little short I know, but I thought this was a good place to stop before I got into the next scene. Please review and sorry if I offended anyone. Thank you!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I have to thank Shannygoat for motivating me to start the next chapter. Sorry for making you all wait so long and I'm glad people are enjoying the story so far. Hope you enjoy this chapter and that it was worth the wait (lol).**

**Chapter 11**

Despite the fact that Lita had tried to calm Tyra down, Tyra just could not let the little bastard Shane just walk away after what he said on stage. So as Shane shook Shelton's hand for a job well done and continued on down the hall, Tyra pushed the hair from her face and chased him down.

"Wait one second!" She demanded with her voice raised. This was not the same shy girl John and his friends had come to know and love. This was a woman who was pissed off and not to be messed with at the moment.

Shane had no choice but to stop when Tyra basically blocked his path and stood right in front of him. Lita chased closely behind her but instead of pulling Tyra away from Shane, she thought it best to just let Tyra do her thing. It wasn't like Shane didn't deserve it.

"Just who the hell do you think you are Mr. Silver spooned, white collar, David Duke wannabe?" She spat with her hands on her hips. Shane rolled his eyes and simply regarded the young woman as nuisance. To him this was all more of a joke than anything. He folded his arms sternly across his chest as Tyra continued.

"First, I am no hoochie mama. I have more class in my little finger than a pampered little asshole like you." Shane raised an eyebrow at the remark. He had to admit, Tyra was a straight shooter. Nonetheless, he would not put up with her tirade for long. Especially since a crowd was now starting to form.

"I don't care if I'm black and you're white. I don't care if your last name is McMahon and mine is Jackson. I don't care if you make more money than me in one day than I will see in a lifetime. You had no right to say those things about me out there and on national television. I may not know a lot about this whole wrestling thing but the way you and Shelton set John up in the ring is disgusting." Tyra finished.

Shane smirked as he thought back to that moment. It was important for him especially since people were watching to remain calm and collected. He would not waste his time responding to someone who was so obviously below him. So instead, he channeled his comments toward John who was now being helped backstage.

"Uh John, you better get your midnight special out of my face before I have security drag her out of here." He called to John as soon as he saw him.

John looked over to where Shane was standing and immediately saw Tyra. The last thing he wanted was for her to have to deal with any more of Shane's insensitive comments.

So, with his hand still rubbing the back of his head, the result of one wicked chair shot no thanks to Shelton, John made his way over to Shane.

It was obvious Tyra was feeling both a great deal or hurt and a great deal of anger. John was oblivious to the confrontation she just had with Shane, but he didn't care, he wanted to get her back to the hotel. So gently he pulled her by the arm and started to walk away. His eyes were pinned on Shane like cold steel staring him down. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many ways he wanted to go off, but John controlled his temper for the time being. If not for Tyra being there, that may not have been the case.

As Tyra started to leave with John, she was not yet able to shake her more natural instinct of survival. The same instincts that had taught her how to survive on the rough streets of the south side of Boston. The same instincts that were now urging her to go back over to Shane and smack him like the bitch she knew he was.

"You okay?" John asked leaning down toward Tyra's ear so she could hear him.

Tyra looked up at John, a tear now rolling down her face. She was tough, but she was human. Anyone with half a mind would have been hurt by the insults that were delivered in her direction, especially when they were so bluntly broadcast to millions of viewers.

"This is all my fault. You getting hit by a chair tonight was because of me." Tyra said as she looked to the ground.

John stopped in his tracks as he took both her arms and spun her around to get her to face him.

"No Tyra. What happened tonight was because Shelton saw an opportunity and he took it, and because my boss's son is an asshole. It has nothing to do with you." John replied trying hard to convince Tyra that she was not to blame.

Tyra wiped her tear and looked up at John. She forced a smile although she knew that after tonight's events, things for her and John would never be the same.

"Listen, let Lita take you back to the hotel. I have a little business to take care of." John told Tyra as he held her chin in his fingertips to keep her from dropping her head again.

That business had to do with Shelton Benjamin and finding out what the hell he was thinking. As far as John knew, they were friends. Obviously that wasn't the case.

"Okay." Tyra replied. Then John kissed her gently on the lips and headed off toward Shelton's locker room. At the same time, Tyra did as John had asked and left with Lita back to the hotel.

While Shane watched the two lovebirds go their separate ways his eyes fell on Tyra's ass.

"Damn, girl's got a temper, and back." He said to himself with a smirk.

Then, just as he turned to leave he ran right into a very pissed off Stephanie McMahon.

"Steph, what's up?" Shane asked innocently.

"A word Shane, in private." Stephanie requested.

Shane looked at his sister as she stomped away. Playing ignorant he couldn't imagine why she was so upset. Sure, Stephanie handled most of the storylines with Vince, but Shane often got his two cents in as well. This was just one of those times, and from the crowd's reaction, everybody but Tyra and John seemed to be into the newly established feud between Shelton and John. Little did Shane know that Stephanie was not amused.

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The crash that was heard after John stormed through the door of Shelton's dressing room almost made Shelton jump out of his skin.

"What the fuck is going on Shelton?!" John demanded as he approached Shelton with rage in his eyes.

Shelton smiled at John. He wanted to piss John off and he had done just that.

"Nothing man. Just following the script." Shelton replied nonchalantly.

"Bullshit! There was no script. That was something between you and Shane." John yelled back.

John knew better. He had taken several chair shots in his career, but had known they were coming every time. If tonight's chair shot was part of the script, he would have known about it ahead of time. At least then he could have protected himself.

"Shane came to me with an idea. Sounds to me you don't like the fact that a black man is finally getting a push in this company." Shelton replied, knowing that he could use the race issue to get under John's skin.

John had heard enough. Without warning he shoved Shelton hard against the wall and pinned him there for a few moments.

"You know that's bullshit Shelton. I thought we were friends." John said.

Shelton smiled back at John but then let the smile disappear from his face and turned very serious.

"You thought wrong white boy." Shelton replied shoving John out of his face. "Business is business John. Don't flatter yourself. You couldn't hang with me if you're life depended on it and you sure as hell can't hang with Tyra. You don't belong with her and you know it." Shelton said, now equally as angry as John.

It now dawned on John that all of this was because he was white and Tyra was black. The fact that Shane had a problem with Tyra came as no surprise to anyone. But the fact that Shelton had an issue with John simply because John had brought her to a few shows seemed almost out of character. Shelton had never come off as racist before, but then again it wasn't like John and Shelton shared a friendship outside of wrestling.

"There's plenty of white ass out there to fuck Cena, leave the dark chocolate to me." Shelton spat just before turning to leave and slamming the door behind him.

**A/N: I really hope no one felt insulted by all this. Thanks for continuing to read and please let me know what you think. Thank you!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

John rubbed his eyes as he gathered his things and thought about Tyra waiting for him back at the hotel. After seeing how hurt Tyra was from Shane's comments and from everything else that had happened he started to wonder if it was all worth it. John could have cared less about himself. If Shelton wanted to play hardball, he'd play hardball, and as far as Shane was concerned, if need be he had no problem taking care of him as well. What worried him most though was Tyra. She was now being put under the same microscope John had been put under since becoming the WWE Champion. It was unfair that she had to suffer simply because of a few assholes backstage that couldn't handle their relationship.

"Hey sexy, where you headed?" Candice asked as she slinked up next to John.

She had been wanting to get close to the Champ all night. The fact that he was obviously with Tyra didn't bother her in the slightest. As far as she was concerned, Tyra was no where to be found. This was her opportunity t o seduce John and hopefully by the night's end, getting him in the sack.

"Back to the hotel." John returned as he continued gathering his things, practically ignoring the diva in front of him.

""Ooooh, fun, I'll join you." Candice replied flirtatiously/

John looked up at Candice practically rolling his eyes. She somehow refused to understand that he was over her. What they had in the past was a mistake in his mind.

"I don't think so." He said and then started to walk away.

"Oh come on honey, please." Candice begged twirling a piece of hair through her fingers and sliding her tongue across her lips.

"No Candice, now leave." John replied and then walked away and out the door.

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Stephanie glared at her brother while he sat down on a plush leather couch nonchalantly picking lint off his jacket.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. The man had no shame.

"Do you want to explain why you felt the need to degrade a young woman who doesn't even work for us in front of millions of people?" Stephanie asked completely irritated over the whole newly formed John vs. Shelton feud.

"What do you mean? The crowd loved what we did tonight. Why are you so bent out of shape over some floozy John picked up off the street? I warned him not to bring her around. It's not my fault she can't handle a little attention." Shane explained uncaringly.

Stephanie raised an eyebrow and shook her head. There was obviously no talking any sense to him. It was one of the reasons Vince had Shane handle the business end of the company while Stephanie was more involved with the creative end. Unfortunately though, Shane still had the authority to push ideas of his own.

"Let me take care of the talent Shane, you worry about the numbers." Stephanie replied getting even angrier.

After Stephanie's comment, Shane got up from the couch and stepped close to her until he was practically in her face staring down at her. He didn't appreciate being told what to do by his little sister.

"Fine Steph, you take care of the talent, but I'll take care of John." Shane said raising his voice and now pointing a finger in Stephanie's direction. "I explicitly told that little bastard not to bring his whore around and he defied me. If I need to make an example out of him I will." Shane finished now staring down at his sister with distaste.

Stephanie slapped Shane's finger away from her direction and now she was the one getting into his face.

"What is it you have against John and his friend anyway Shane?" Stephanie asked directly.

Shane smirked slightly before he answered.

"Our Superstars have a certain image to represent. What will people think if Cena is suddenly scene showing off some nobody who's probably never heard the name Dior, and thinks that eating out at White Castles is the idea of a good meal? And by the way, she's black." Shane finished as if Stephanie didn't already know and somehow that information would have shocked her into seeing things his way.

"I know Shane, I've met her. And by the way, she has more class than some of the Diva's I'm sure you're busy fucking on the side." Stephanie spat and then turned to leave.

As Shane watched her go he shook his head. He had always thought of Stephanie as being so naive. Sometimes he felt she was in over her head when it came to the wrestling business. It was a man's world and he was a man. Regardless of how much power backstage Vince gave her to stroke her ego, Stephanie would never understand what business is all about.

"Yo, Steph doesn't look too happy bro." Shelton said as he and Candice entered the room just as Stephanie was marching out. "Guess she's a little upset over what happened tonight huh?" He asked.

Shane greeted the two wrestlers with a smile, taking special note of Candice's cleavage.

"Stephanie doesn't make the rules around here, I do." Shane replied, making sure that Shelton and Candice understood that he was the McMahon with power, not Stephanie; that was of course behind dear old mom and dad.

Shelton and Candice looked at each other with a smirk. They found the whole sibling rivalry thing quire amusing as did almost everyone else backstage.

"So Shane, Candice thought of a great idea for the storyline. How about you make Candice John's partner. That way maybe this Tyra chick may think twice about dating someone so obviously out of her league." Shelton said with a broad grin.

Truth be told, Shelton felt Tyra was out of John's league, not the other way around. Tyra needed to be with her own race, it was that simple. So when Candice approached Shelton about the idea, he was all too willing to pass it along to Shane. Of course Candice could have cared less what color Tyra was, all she was concerned about was getting John back where he belonged...with her.

"Come on Shane, what do you think?" Candice asked as she moved up close to Shane and softly and seductively ran her fingers down the side of his face.

Shane couldn't help but to smile at Candice's advances, and regardless of her attempts to seduce him, he liked the idea anyway.

"I like it. Starting next Monday we'll have you go to the ring with John." Shane replied to the petite diva, which brought a smile to her face.

Shelton was also smiling. Maybe once John was out of the picture he could make a play on Tyra for himself.

"Thanks Shane, we'll see you next week." Shelton said as he and Candice turned to leave.

"Wait a second." Shane called out. "Candice, I want you to stay. Shelton, close the door behind you if you don't mind." Shane requested throwing Shelton a wink.

As soon as Shelton closed the door, Shane moved over to Candice and placed a hand on her lower back, pushing her into him.

"I think you owe me one." He said, implying the obvious.

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When John arrived back at the hotel and to his room, he found Randy, Lita and Tyra relaxing and flipping through the channels on the television. As John looked around the room he saw several open bottles of beer and a few half filled glasses of wine. Much to Lita's discretion, Randy had decided that the best way to cheer Tyra up was a good old fashioned drink fest. Luckily for Randy it worked. Tyra had for the time being forgotten all about the Shelton and Shane's actions, and Lita had plopped herself comfortably in Randy's lap.

"So did I miss the party?" John asked as he stepped into the room, his head still feeling extremely sore from the Shelton Benjamin chair shot he took earlier.

As Randy looked over at Lita and nudged her off to the side so he could get up, Tyra rose to her feet as well.

"No man, not at all. I'll grab you a beer. I'm sure you could use one." Randy replied cheerfully.

John smirked at his friend. He was definitely right about that one.

Although Tyra was feeling a little tipsy, she hadn't completely lost her bearings. Lita and Randy had been able to get her mind off of things temporarily, but the minute she saw John, everything came back to her. Just looking at him made her wonder what she had done to him and his career. After having several hours to think about everything that had happened, she somehow blamed herself for John's situation.

"How's your head?" Tyra asked John almost ashamed for even being in his presence.

John put on a smile. Although it hurt like hell, he certainly didn't want to convey that to her.

"Damn girl, it would take more than a chair to keep me down." He said tossing her a boyish grin.

Tyra smiled back. Slowly she was becoming used to the fact that the man in front of her was not just some TV character her friend Anthony talked about at work, but a real life person. It was his smile that made it all real to her. It was his smile that reassured her.

"So when do we get to kick salt and pepper's ass?" Randy asked as he handed John a beer. Lita simply rolled her eyes at Randy's weak attempt at humor. Salt and pepper of course was Shane and Shelton.

"Shelton? Hopefully next week. Shane?" John replied before being cut off by Tyra.

"Let me handle Shane. This is one hoochie mama that would love to kick his lily white ass red." Tyra replied, surprised at her own abrasiveness.

John, Randy and Lita all looked at each other surprised that Tyra had finally broken out of her shell and started showing her real self; that was quickly followed by laughter at the fact that if Tyra really wanted too, none of them doubted that she could whip Shane's ass into next year.

"That's my girl." John replied and then pulled Tyra next to him so that she was pressed comfortably up against his body.

As the laughter died and Lita noticed that John was getting that look, you know, that look like he wanted to be alone with his girl, she walked over to Randy and grabbed him by the hand.

"Come one funny guy, I think we need to get going." She said pulling him away and toward the door so that John and Tyra could be alone.

Randy looked to Lita as if to say, _but I didn't finish my beer_, but Lita quickly shot him a warning glare.

"Alright man, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Randy said to John jokingly and then him and Lita were out the door.

As soon as Lita and Randy were gone, John wrapped his arms fully around Tyra in a warm embrace.

"Please don't let what happened tonight get to you." He whispered to her and then bent down to feather her with a kiss on the neck.

The blood rushing through Tyra started moving almost twice as fast as usual. The man sent shivers through her body and just a simple touch almost made her knees buckle.

Before Tyra could even respond John planted his lips on to hers. Inside, both their hearts were racing. Neither one was sure if they would be able to control themselves, but both had one question left unanswered. Was it worth it? Deep in the back of Tyra's mind she had yet to buy into the idea that this whole dream would last forever. In her experience, nothing good ever lasts. She had learned that the day her ten year old brother was shot dead in the street by an errant bullet. A senseless death all due to some stupid street vendetta and a pair of shoes. John on the other hand knew that life on the road was tough and so was the microscope TV personalities were put under. It was obvious there were certain people who didn't like the fact they were together based solely on status and color. The feelings he had for Tyra ran deeper by the day. After seeing how upset she was based on the nights events he wondered if maybe she would be better off without him.

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. I hope it was worth the wait and if there are a ton of grammatical mistakes, please forgive me, I wrote this chapter pretty quickly. Please PM if I screwed up somewhere and something doesn't make sense. As always, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**


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